MINNEAPOLIS— Throughout much of the past two years in and around State College, former Penn State linebacker Michael Mauti was one of the most well-known college football figures. He’d be asked to pose for pictures, sign autographs for fans, and has his No. 42 was plastered on the side of Penn State's helmet following his season-ending knee injury.

Of course, Mauti was one of the unifying figures in the 2012 senior class and a face of the program during tumultuous times. But there’s a sense of anonymity with his new life as a rookie in the NFL. In many ways it’s a little glimpse of normalcy after his widely popular college career came to a close.

“It is normal for sure and that’s what I like,” Mauti said Thursday, before the Vikings played and beat the visiting Redskins. “As great as Penn State was to me and as great as the fans are and I definitely miss that, you have to get back to real life and you can’t stay in the place where people are constantly telling you how good you are. You got to go back to being in a humble atmosphere and work as hard as you need to and that’s what this has been for me and it’s been a great place so far.”

In Minnesota, Mauti is doing his part by getting his foot in the door playing special teams. The former seventh-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft vowed he’d be 100 percent by training camp in July – just eight months after sustaining his third anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear – and he was. Joined by former Penn State teammate and Minnesota’s fourth-round pick, Gerald Hodges, the two linebackers continue working their way through the NFL pecking order, biding their time on special teams while learning from assistant head coach/linebackers coach Mike Singletary.

It’s not a job filled with a lot of publicity right now as Mauti lives in a Minneapolis suburb, goes about his business and stays out of the limelight. By his own admission he’s “keeping it simple.”

He didn’t buy anything special with his first professional paycheck, but laughs when asked. Like most 23-year-olds he was happy he remembered to pay his rent. No new vehicle to get back and forth to the Vikings’ facility, just a car his mom gave him. Maybe at some point down the road he’d consider buying a truck.

“You don’t really get recognized too much when you walk around here in public. It does happen sometimes,” he said. “But there aren’t too many Penn State fans around.

“It’s kind of like being a freshman all over again. … You gotta kind of take a little bite out of your pride and just kind of get back to the grindstone.”

As Mauti goes through pre-game warmups, crouching low, taking a few stutter steps and exploding for 5 yards, he’s moving as well as the other six linebackers on the field. He’s making the transition into a middle-linebacker role and showing no signs of a player whose draft stock plummeted after tearing his ACL nearly a year ago.

He prides himself on his special-teams play, lining up at the 50 and letting out a howl before the opening kickoff. Eye black smeared all over his face, his hair sticking out from underneath his helmet, this is the type of opportunity Mauti envisioned when he rehabilitated his left knee in the offseason.

Physically he said there wasn’t a question about whether or not he’d return to the field at some point after his third surgery in five years. Mentally, it was a challenge.

“You have this motivation to get yourself right but your mind wants to play tricks on you,” he said. “It’s like telling you, ‘Do you know how to do this? What are you doing?’ ”

Sprinting down the field during the first half, Mauti blocks former Penn Stater Josh Hull, a guy Mauti didn’t realize was a member of the Redskins until he turned on the special-teams tape earlier this week. The Redskins also have running back Evan Royster, Penn State’s all-time leading rusher, on their roster.

“It’s always good to see Penn Staters around the league. It’s a close fraternity,” he said. “All those guys, no matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other, it seems like we’ve never left.”

Added Hodges: “We all talked after the game. It was great seeing those guys again. They’re guys that I played with when I was younger. When I was a freshman those guys were on the team and now we’re all out here playing the same football game.”

Mauti jumped up and sprinted to the sideline, where he was met with a pat on the back from linebacker Chad Greenway, a player whose success in the league Mauti would like to one day emulate. Greenway, Minnesota’s leading tackler from 2008-2012 and the team's defensive MVP in 2012, likes what he has seen from both former Penn State linebackers thus far.

“Both those guys are great football players and they’re also really good guys,” Greenway said. “They’re guys that you want to be a part of your linebacking room as well as part of your organization. They’re standup guys who are learning and biding their time. I’m impressed with how Mauti has come back from that knee injury and you know Hodges is very capable of doing a lot of good things in this league.”

Mauti had this upcoming weekend circled on his calendar since he made the Vikings' roster in August. Making it to TCF Bank Stadium Saturday afternoon for Penn State’s game against Minnesota is something he said he wouldn’t miss.

After Thursday night’s game, one where the Vikings used 20 second-half points to drop the Redskins, 34-27, the two rookies sit in their lockers as cameras swarm to All-Pro Adrian Peterson and veteran defensive end Jared Allen.

When Mauti is at Saturday’s Penn State game, it’ll be a different story. Cameras will show him and there undoubtedly will be interview requests. For now, just like most rookies at this point in the season, he’s still biding his time but enjoying the ride.

“Hopefully, two of my teams will go 2-0 this weekend,” he said. “I’ll rest my voice, have a little bit of tea [Thursday night] and honey, make sure I’ll be well-rested for that game, for sure.”